From CNN, “Democrats soften pledge for three-day posting of health bill”:
House Democrats appear to be softening their pledge to allow the public 72 hours to review the health care reform package online before a House vote. “We will certainly give as much notice as possible, but I’m not going to say that 72 hours is going to be the litmus test,” said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer on Friday.
“The House bill or Senate bill, as proposed, has been online for some two-and-a-half months, otherwise known about 75 days,” Hoyer added, referring to the November and December dates each chamber passed its version of health care legislation.
But Democrats could vote as soon as next week on a series of changes to the health care package – called a reconciliation bill – and the number two House Republican criticized Hoyer directly on House floor.
[…]
Hoyer on Friday said that a three-day posting for the reconciled bill was his preference, but he said the American public had been waiting for health care reform since the time of President Theodore Roosevelt and action must be taken.
“There’s been ample time to review the bill, whether it’s the Senate bill or the House bill,” Hoyer told Cantor.
Cantor in turn called that lack of commitment “disturbing.”
“I think that’s consistent to the depiction that there is a ramming through going on,” he said.
Oh, there’s some ramming going on all right.
Bend over, America. And cough.
Trust us. It’s for your own good…
(h/t bh)
Hoyer seems to wish to be as disingenuous as the rest of them.
Why do they want it so bad, when it is apparently bad for them?
Do they really think people will embrace them for this?
Is it out of sheer stuborness (remember when they criticized Bush for that)?
Or is it for bigger
socialisticprogressive goals?OT: The long wait is over. We’ve wondered for so long to know what it would sound like if you installed some electric guitars in a room full of zebra finches, and now, finally, someone from France makes it all happen.
Joe: That was a rhetorical question, yeah?
dicentra, yeah. Rhetorical.
The dems hope you will grow to love it.
JD, hope your daughter is doing better.
the rahming of america
But at least the cops will warn us of a zombie apocalypse. http://chztweetbaggery.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/129126434735309481.jpg
Stupak digs in…
Nancy may have to call for towel-snappin’ Rahm to take care of Stupak. This is beyond popcorn!
Hoyer is disingenuous Peoples Republic of Maryland liberal scum from waaayyyy back. In fact, when he was in danger of losing his seat a few years ago to a black man, owing to the demographic of his district, they simply engaged in good old fashioned gerrymandering to ensure that he would have a district to hail from.
He’s been one of the loyal lefties for years.
Somebody needs to introduce these threateners to the joys of flying through a window and falling three stories to the pavement.
Make it personal? Get it. Personal.
I’ve been puzzled somewhat at the attention (in terms of relative volume of media coverage) devoted to the Stupak faction, which Stupak himself has claimed to be 12 members, when a total of 38 democrat members are required by either side to win or lose the vote. Is there an intention behind the relative attention paid, either to increase the stress on one set of members or to decrease the stress on another? It’s difficult to tell. But however that question cuts, 26 is a larger number than 12.
From the Corner.
That’s why I say, nope, they don’t have the votes. They lie to all, especially themselves.
Next year, when Obama is widely recognized as a premature lame duck, Harry Reid is spending time with his family and Nancy Pelosi is a minority member on the Committee of Toll Booth Oversight, what punishment will they be able to mete out to the current fence sitters?
That’s what I hope the Reps in Congress are whispering to their colleagues across the aisle.
I was thinking “Waiting for the Sun” but “Riding the Storm Out” is good to.
The missing “o” is here.
Our two esteemed legislative bodies have passed voluminous bills that both admit suck shit. The public agrees. Both bills suck shit. The house plans to pass one of these shitty bills by extraconstitutional parliamentary maneuvering that would allow our legislators to pass a bill without actually voting on it–it’s just magic. And then they plan on lying about it.
What’s not to get? It takes a couple ludes and a case and a half of beer, but trust me, it all makes perfect sense.
@12
To my mind this speaks of the complicity of the MSM. Stupak and his 12 are one can of worms, why would the cheerleaders explore the other 26 votes and risk opening 26 other potential cans of worms?
Dolts Uber Alles
Old Dad, I disremember all of that. And fondly, if I remember correctly.
Part of the difference can be accounted for by the fact that many if not all of the Stupak faction voted for the House bill and will now apparently vote against the Senate bill. CNN counts:
They don’t have the votes. You can get 45% of Congress to do something this obscene to Americans, but you can’t get 51%.
Uttered with a straight face, one presumes.
Strange times, strange times.
“Thirty-four House Democrats are either firm no votes or leaning no, according to The Hill’s whip list. Dozens more are undecided.”
That leaves at least four to be obtained from the dozens undecided, assuming none of the leaning-no vote change to vote yes. As Jay Cost has pointed out, we ought not forget Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky. Who wouldn’t be more comfortable if the thirty-four were already forty-two, say?
False alarm, guys. Turns out our fears about Obamacare are all “myths.” Phew, had me going for a while…carry on, Congresscritters…
My Rep., Driehaus, is one of the supposed Stupak group, and keeps vaguely claiming that he won’t vote yes again unless the federal abortion funding is eliminated. (Of course, he also claims to be a fiscal conservative; yet voted yes for cap’n’trade and the stimulus…)
I have called his office 3 times this week and e-mailed 4 times. It is getting harder and harder to refrain from swearing and name calling.
Anyway, I wrote him today as follows:
Sir:
Since the Congress and the President refuse to accept NO for an answer on the healthcare legislation, it is left to us to continue screaming NO by phone calls and e-mails.
The latest twist in this incredibly ill-advised, ill-conceived, and cynically manipulated process appears to be the Slaughter Solution. Yesterday, I heard Speaker Pelosi again commenting about this “historic”
legislation, and thought that I would reflect on that from here:
It will indeed be historic if the House passes, without a direct vote, a wholly partisan, unsustainable, unaffordable, and wildly unpopular piece of legislation that essentially destroys the right of any citizen to control his or her own healthcare decisions.
It will be even more historic that you have gone from passing unread legislation (see ARRA) to passing unwritten legislation (see the rumored reconciliation bill) which amends, only by reference, legislation
that has not even been passed into law by the normal Constitutional process. I guess we just need to hope that the President signs the bills in the right order! But, of course, that assumes that the Senate
has any interest at all in amending a bill that it already considered satisfactory, doesn’t it?
It will also be historic that a takeover of 1/6 of the economy does not even merit a vote, so long as it can be “deemed to have passed.”
Another historic note: Never before has Congress asserted its authority to impose a legal duty upon every citizen (except yourselves and your minions, cronies, and buddies, of course) to purchase a product designed and controlled by the government. What section of the Constitution gives you that power? Or is it just “deemed” to exist?
To make matters even better, I gather that you will also be taking over all college loans! I’m sure that all of the employees that work for private lenders will be thrilled to join the growing ranks of the unemployed.
Gosh, is there anything left for the private sector to do but hope for a goverment contract or handout?
Can you even step back and see how appalling this is?
Even if you believe that Americans are too stupid to run their own lives, don’t you take any offense to this complete perversion of our system?
Do you really believe that 266 people have the right to tell 266,000,000 other people what health decisions will be permitted?
Is this what we have come to?
Now I also see that Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Hoyer have decided that this is so urgent that you might not really have time to post the final package on the internet for review. Of course, this is nothing new,
since promises seem to have no shelf-life at all in DC; but really, are we supposed to believe that another 3 days just can’t be added to a process that has dragged on for a year to the exclusion of action
on anything the public actually cares about?
In January, the Speaker said, “The House Democratic Leadership is committed to having the final health insurance reform legislation online for 72 hours before the House votes, for all Members and the American
people to review. We will continue the transparent process this landmark legislation has had for months.”
I guess that promise, just like the promises of bipartisanship, ethical governance, deficit reduction, a focus on jobs, cleaning up Washington, and listening to the people were, to quote our President, “just
words.”
I am disgusted and you should be, too. I hope you will think about what you are doing, and stand up for the rights that free people value.
VOTE NO!!!
Jean
Sorry to ramble, but I am pissed.
Which would put the Senate back to needing 60 votes.
Which is why all this hand-waving by Pelosi, et al, about the Slaughter Solution: adopt the amendments they want to the Senate bill and “deem” that they’ve adopted the Senate bill and it’s just up to the Senate to “reconcile” things by adopting the amendments.
And again, this is what the Senate Parliamentarian — hardly a tea-party guy — has said won’t fly.
My congressman would sooner castrate himself with a jackhammer than vote for ObamaCare in any form, so I’m watching all this from the sidelines. It would almost be more fun if I lived in a blue district.
Until my head exploded, anyway.
serr8d,
I didn’t do it–probably.
Madam Speaker says I don’t have to have a day job if I don’t want one-
“Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance.”
http://weeklystandard.com/blogs/pelosi-health-care-reform-will-finally-allow-artists-focus-being-unemployed-comfortably
As per Ms. Pelosi’s advice, I think I will quit my job and start writing. I’m not even going to try to get published. I don’t even know what I’m going to write about.
Well said, Jean.
[Stands up and applauds]
“We have softened the pledge… Pray we do not soften it further.”
Meh. Remember Nancy Pelosi expert vote counter? The day Pelosi has the votes to pass the Senate bill she’ll call for a vote. The ball has been in her court since Christmas and there’s been no vote. Therefore we can conclude that she doesn’t have the votes to pass the Senate bill. Every day that passes is one day closer to the mid-term elections and that means that every day that passes makes it just a little more difficult to get the votes necessary to pass this very unpopular legislation.
Meanwhile, Pelosi has had two-and-a-half months to wheel and deal and twist arms, and Obama has had two-and-a-half months of speechifying to move this legislation along. If wheeling and dealing and twisting arms and speechifying were going to do the trick you’d think they’d have done so by now. They haven’t.
And apparently even Nancy and Barry don’t think they will, or we wouldn’t be hearing about strange parliamentary maneuvers designed to push this legislation through without debate and even without a vote. Stick a fork in ’em, they’re done.
[…] and ProctologyPosted on | March 13, 2010 | No CommentsThey do have something in common, as Jeff Goldstein observes:Oh, there’s some ramming going on all right. Bend over, America. And cough. Trust us. It’s for […]
I’m with Old Dad.
Except for the part where he only drinks half the can of beer. That’s just wasteful. At least poor the rest in the dog’s bowl or something.
Two heartbeats away, bitches !!!
…
Nobody else knows Biden’s a vampire, you see.
So yes, two.
No wait, ONE !!!
(Math is hard.)
Are Biden and Obama allowed to fly on the same plane?
I sure hope so.
Are Biden and Obama allowed to fly on the same plane?
No. Turns out narcissism, stupid, hair plugs, and ego can in fact be enriched to weapons grade, and are horribly volatile when mixed.
OK, just scrap the health whatever bill. Just ditch it. It has nothing to do with either insurance or cost. It’s a twitchy dose of pancake makeup on a tumor.
cynn 1, meya 0.
…pancake makeup on a tumor.
Never heard that. Good ‘un.
Worst reach around ever. I don’t have a hernia.
Ok, that new Ads by Google bar at the bottom sucks. I clicked on “Date Democrats” figuring to find a hot, late 20’s emo or whatever chick who voted for Captain Present and doesn’t understand taxes or healthcare, or…anything, and, instead, got routed to a site to re-elect Blanche Lincoln.
Worst dating site ever.
The Democrats must be channeling the spirit of Field-Marshal Haig.
(“Antoher attempt by Field-Marshal Haig to move his drinks cabinet six inches closer to Berlin.”)
You have to pay extra for that in some countries. Just sayin’…